Number 15
by S.A.Hikari
Summary: 15 is an experiment designed to kill the failed trial known as Maximum Ride. When 15 developes a personality and escapes the school, she meets up with the flock. But a deep evil lurks in 15. An Evil that very well could be Maximum's undoing. There is FAX!
1. Hope

Hi, it's me again, S.A Hikari, and it's my very first Maximum Ride fanficiton! (All the rest have been Naruto, with the exception of a Wall-E one-shot)

I do not own Maximum Ride in any way, shape, or form.

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**Number 15 POV**

I curled up, tightening my wings into a shade over my body as I crumpled in my cold cage inside the storage area. I heard a few scientists open the door, and light flooded into the room of cages.

"What?! Again?! Darn it!"

I peeked out from under my wing blanket. It was a familiar scientist, Chris, who had cried out. His back was turned to my cage, but I listened in.

"Yes, Sir. Max eluded us again."

… What?...

Chris grabbed the Eraser. "You find her, or **you'll **be the one battling number 15!" Hm?

The Eraser began to sweat. "N… no, Sir, I mean, yes, Sir!" Without another word, he took off in the other direction.

I opened my mouth and gasped… loudly.

Chris, alert and awake, perked up and looked directly at my 'sleeping form". "You awake, Number 15?"

I squeezed my eyes shut and pulled my head under my wings and made, the best I could, small sleeping noises.

Chris snorted and walked out of the storage room. "Oh, and little Number 15, you have a fight tomorrow at 6:30 AM. Be ready."

I turned over. I better get good sleep.

The night was hard. I kept thinking about this 'Max' person. Had he escaped the school? Was that even possible?

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The chain link rolled as my door opened. There was my audience of several scientists with note pads and glasses, their pencils ready and eyes glued to me.

A couple feet in front of me was my opponent. It looked like some sort of shark thing. It was standing in a deep puddle and glaring at me.

I sighed. Another victim, more torture, forced to fight me for their random experiments.

It snarled at me, evil intent in its eyes. It was so misshapen that I couldn't tell whether it was a male or female. The poor thing was probably agitated and shocked to no end to make it aggressive towards everything. Its dark eyes were beady. I hated to fight it, but I wouldn't get food if I didn't, and if there's one thing I know, it's that I will survive. If the Max person escaped, that means it's possible, and I'll do it, too. For that I'll need to stay alive.

The bell signaled for our battle. The shark thing ran strait at me. I lifted my heard to the sky and underwent a full out morph.

The shark thing stalled. A glint in my eye made the shark thing take a step back. I spread out my light wings and took to the sky. It looked up at my flying figure.

I swooped down and grabbed the shark thing by the protruding fin on its head. It was over. The thing screamed, but a clamp to its soft neck silenced it.

The metallic taste of blood graced my lips and tongue. I didn't understand why some people thought it was gross… I loved it.

The shark thing hung limp in my claws, the deadly wound leaking blood down his back. I was pretty sure it was still alive. I never liked to kill my opponents, but after they were beaten the scientists were just going to kill them anyway. I removed my mouth from the victim's neck and held it close to me, occasionally licking the open wound free of excess blood.

I flew to the floor of the arena and laid it down on the floor. I had never done this before. Usually I just left the living creature, or what was left of it, out in the arena center and returned to the iron door from where I came. I wondered what the scientists would think or say.

One stood up. I got up myself, looking him in the eye. This scared him a little bit which made me pleased. "Number 15, kill the specimen."

I was shocked, but stood my ground.

"Number 15…" the scientist said as if speaking to a child.

"NO!" I used my enhanced vocal chord to extend my voice, blowing them back. Needless to say, I was happy with my power. They stood there, obviously not saying anything. They knew I wouldn't kill the shark thing, not without becoming extremely angry at it for some reason.

Finally, after a long silence, I spoke. "Who is Max?" I asked in a booming voice.

The scientists eyes widened, surprised, I guess. But they ignored my question.

"You need to be more aggressive. You need to start killing the fallen. Do you want to be shocked? We will provoke you into killing if you don't!"

I returned with their exact response to my question.

Silence.

I smirked with my cleverness. "I'll ask again," I leapt into the air, hovering but four feet above the ground and floated over to them, flaring my nostrils and showing m teeth and talons.

But I dare not attack. Electric centers were focused at me all throughout the circular arena. If I were to become within a foot of the scientists, I would be killed instantly.

"WHO IS MAX?!" I screamed in their faces, knowing full well that my super voice might just make them deaf, but I didn't care.

Four of them covered their ears, but one dared look me in the eye. "She is the oldest living bird kid… and your purpose for living."

I'd heard about the bird kids before, but I didn't know about… that other part…

"What happened to her?" I demanded, ignoring the other thing.

"She escaped the school with five other bird kids."

That is what I wanted to know! I smiled content.

"But I wouldn't get my hopes up."

I looked at him again, fiercely.

"Because they escaped with the help of each other, and a scientist. You don't' have ANYONE, Number 15, and you never will."

I growled at him. I turned around to head back to the entrance door to be returned to my cage. As I walked, the scientist called out, "Oh, and Number 15,"

I stopped, but stared ahead, concealing grief behind my eyes.

"Your purpose in life… is to kill Max."

I sighed.

"You were specifically designed and created for it. And you **will** do it, whether you consent or not. We will change your nature."

I started back to the door and morphed back as I walked. I returned to my chamber, waiting to be back in my cage, where I didn't have to deal with this.

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I crawled into my cage and lay down, staring up at the scientists, begging for my food ration for winning. But he held no food. He beckoned in another scientist, who was pushing a cart with the shark thing on it. Before he shut my door he put it in with me. I stared up at him, but I understood. Then he left with the other one. As I held my knees, I looked at the shark thing. The wound on its neck was severe, but it could be healed.

Suddenly, its eyes twitched, and looked right at me. I expected to be hit my it's wimpy fins or something, but instead it whimpered. It was afraid of me, even though I hadn't morphed. Then I realized it. It wasn't in water and, because it was a fish, would die anyway even if I did heal it.

… And I knew they were watching.

I didn't want to. I really didn't want to, but I morphed anyway and, using my arm strength, snapped its neck. Hunched over, I took small bites of its flesh to satisfy myself. I felt better and better as I ate away at its body.

But I wouldn't change. I was strong, and I wouldn't.

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So, did you like it? I, for one, am proud of it. Granted, it is a tad disturbing. That's why it's rated T. And just as a heads up, Number 15 is a girl. I realize I didn't state that in the story. As to what she morphs to, is up to speculation on your part. It will clarify later. Once again, thanks for reading!

Sincerely,

S.A. Hikari


	2. Max

HI there! It's me again, S. A. Hikari

Chapter Two.

I don't own Maximum Ride in any way, shape, or form.

Keep in mind that this story is Teen. It may be a little too intense for younger readers. The elements are not for children under 13.

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**Max POV**

The light shone brightly into the cave where I and my flock slept. I grunted, disturbed at my lovely sleep. Opening my eyes I glanced Fang sleeping no more than two feet away from me. His back was to me, and I sighed as I watched his breath move his side up and down. The long black strands of hair lying beside him desperately needed to be washed, but hey… that's what happens when you're a mutant on the run.

I yawned and stretched, making as much noise as possible to try and wake him up. It felt good to move my muscles, and as I did so… I felt powerful. I liked this. When you feel power, you feel as if you can take on the world… but according to the voice that liked to haunt the living daylights out of me, I would be saving it, not challenging it. But it's not like I cared. I took on each day as it approached. Take one day at a time… that is my strategy. And it seems to be working fine so far.

"Fang…" I whispered, trying to waken him, turning my two hands into a pillow of sorts and put it under my head. He didn't budge. I blinked, and then sat up. "Hey… Lazy Bones Fang!" I was starting to get irritated. I reached out my hand and shoved him on the shoulder. "IT'S TIME TO WAKE UP, DING-BAT."

"Eeeerrrr," he muttered. He turned to face me and rubbed his eyes free of sleep crust. "Hm… Max. Wadduya want?" Then he yawned.

"The suns up… that means it's time to get going." I didn't care what time it was, when the suns up, we're up. That doesn't necessarily mean that I knew where we were going either, but it's good to have a solid waking time, and I think that may have something to do with my bird DNA. You know, with roosters getting up to crow at the sun each morning… but thank god I'm not a chicken.

"Hm… okay…."

"Said Mr. Emotionless." I joked. He just stared at me.

"Right."

"Fine, I'll just get everyone up." I muttered. He turned to the other side of our temporary home… a cave. We were very lucky to have found this. Usually we have to sleep under a bridge or in the woods, needless to say, not very fun.

I stood up, casting a shadow from the light from the opening of the cave. I took in a big breath and…. "Up and at 'em guys! Iggy! Come'on! Nudge, Angel, Gazzy, suns up. You know my policy."

Iggy rolled over and rubbed his sightless eyes. "Ah, let up, Maxey. It's Saturday."

I gave him a death glare. "Don't you EVER call me that again…"

He looked at me and smiled. "What should I not call you… Maxey?"

I snarled. "Seriously… don't…"

Nudge came out from the shadows of the caves, stretching too, "Stop it. It's way too early for this, Max... Iggy…"

Gazzy, who was in another corner, giggled. "Yeah, you're one to talk, Nudge."

Fang took in a big breath. "Now shut up. We need to focus on what we're doing and where we're going."

Then… it intruded.

_Hey Max… _

Oh joy, not you again, stupid voice.

_There's something brewing at the School… _

No! We blew it up! That's impossible! It's long gone. I…I… mean we assumed…

_A lesson of life, Maximum… never assume… _

Oh… crap.

Fang noticed my silence. "Hey… Max. What's wrong?"

I lowered my head and unfurled my brown and white wings, keeping my eyes hidden. "The school… it's back."

His eyes widened, and Mr. Emotionless showed some surprise. "Wha? How do you know?"

I looked at him. "The voice."

He nodded. "Of course."

Angel walked up to me. "And we all know of the voice's reliability."

It was Nudge's turn to talk. "Then… our course of action is…"

I spoke up. "Well it's best to keep moving, but I think it may be a good idea to check up on my mom. Jeb's there too, right? He might know something about this." Heheh. It looks like it's time for a little intervention.

I smiled. "Ready guys?" I flapped my wings, and a rush of air blew past my hair. A burning sensation filled my heart, and my wings tingled. The feeling of freedom filled me to the brim, and I felt power and a rush of love. It also was reassuring to know that I would see my mom again, Mrs. Martinez, and my biological sister, Ella. I smiled. Even though things looked grim… I knew that I could always count on my family and friends to help me.

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The wind flew past my ears as I led my flock to our destination. Thoughts flowed through my head, filling it with strange theories about what the newly re-built School might try to attempt.

_I know, Max. Things, terrible things, are stirring, and it's up to you to…_

"Yadda, Yadda, save the world and all that crap."

Fang flew up next to me. "Uh, Max? You okay?"

Then I just realized I had been talking to myself. I turned to him. "I'm fine, Fang. It's not like you haven't seen me talk to myself before." He looked at me with disdain, and humphed.

"Well," he spat, "Excuse me for being concerned." He started to fall back.

"No wait, Fang…" I told him. He remained in his position. "Don't… go back. I'm sorry. I'm just a little bit on edge right now. There's a lot going on."

He chuckled. "Apparently," but then his face got serious, "is there anything I can help you with, Max? I'm always here for you."

That was the great thing about Fang. My right Wing Man. I'm Bat-woman and he's Robin. I'm the brain and he's the wi…. Achem. Okay. Enough of the stupid puns. I think you get the picture. He was just always there for me. Ready to get me anything I needed, poised to pounce on anything a danger to me. That is the way it was, and the way it always should be.

_Max… things are not always going to be the same as they are now. _

Butt out.

_You are going to see things in a different light from now on. Fang won't just be you're right hand man. He'll be…_

Just… don't say it, okay? I get that things are changing, but I want to cling on to the way things are now. I am Max, the leader. Get it? Not you.

The voice spoke no more.

"Max?"

"Hm?" Then I realized that Fang was still talking to me.

"Is there anything you need?" He asked me, care in his voice.

"Oh, no, just stay here beside me, okay? I'd just really like to have some company right now." No one was company like Fang. The rest of my Flock were more like my children. I lived for them. That was one of my main purposes in life. Fang I didn't have to look out for. He was my companion.

Our wing beats were in complete unison. The cool air filled my lungs and I felt bursts of adrenaline. I flapped my wings some more, and flew even faster, Fang right beside me. And right here, me, my flock, and Fang… I was happy. That doesn't happen very often.

Angel smiled.

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**3****rd**** Person POV**

The creaking of the iron gates filled the mini- coliseum. A figure on one end of the arena looked onward with anticipation and a lust for fighting. It had feathers covering its body and a beak-like mouth. Its arms spread out and unfurled scrawny wings from them. It gave a squawk-like shriek and leapt into the air.

Inside the rusty iron gates opening on the other corner of the coliseum was another figure. It was not yet visible by the other creature, hovering above the arena's floors, but as soon as the chain doors were finished opening, and they locked tight, the shadow appeared. At first all the creature could see was its eyes. It had menacing red globes, lighting the darkness. The bird creature squawked again, showing a fist and feet full of talon-like claws. It was completely confident… until the new creature entered. The figure was a girl. She had plain long, brown hair, wore white scrubs like the bird creature, and like every other experiment in this facility. Her legs were bare, but she appeared extremely skinny. Her ribs protruded from her bare stomach. There was almost no muscle on her at all. However, her red eyes glared at the bird creature.

A tone sounded from an intercom mounted on the top of the coliseum. It was the signal to fight. The bird creature picked up a large rock from the side of the area and chucked it at the girl. It landed beside her and smashed into pieces.

"See, Christopher? I've created a successful Max replica. It has her strength, speed, and special powers. It doesn't have as subtle features as the real Max does, but it'll do." A man in white lab scrubs spoke to another in the small box they had on the side of the coliseum to observe the two subjects.

The man called Christopher spoke back. "Nicely done. Let's see how it fares against it."

The bird creature charged at the girl. The girl looked up, shone her bright red eyes and took a stance. One leg was poised in front of the other and her hands were up in front of her, showing her long, scraggily nails. As the bird creature came closer, the girl chose that moment to morph. Her nails quickly changed from useless slates of carotene into long, black, sharp, stakes. Her neck grew longer, and a pair of red, tattered wings emerged from her back. Her nose grew out, horns protruded from her skull, a tail appeared, and her teeth turned into mini daggers.

This stopped the bird creature in its tracks. The dragon opened its mouth and roared. The sound waves were so intense, it knocked the bird creature backwards, and the dragon tackled it, using its massive teeth to clamp onto its neck, effacing its life.

The scientist observing turned to Chris. "What did I tell you? A complete success."

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I really like reviews. I hope you liked this.

Thanks for Reading! ^^

Sincerely,

Hikari


	3. The Chip

Chapter 3.

I don't own Maximum Ride in any way, shape, or form.

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My heart beat fast as I heard the screechy door open. I knew what it meant… more torture, more killings, things I was forced to do to make me more aggressive, ruthless even. A silhouette, its clothes hanging like drapes from its body, stood in the light covering the cement floor in front of my cage. My "supervisor" as the lab men called him… my hangman. Except death would never come, I am supposed to hang there, being choked of precious breath, but I would remain alive, in forever torment. This was not living.

"Number 15!" Christopher barked.

I was taught to respond. "Yes?" I said, shrouding my eyes.

"You have an appointment. Your chip is to be replaced with a newer, better one."

I scoffed. Newer… better? Heh. More like fiercer, harder to control. I bit at the scar in my arm concealing my current chip. It was horrible. The thing made my blood pump so fast into my head, it made me angry, frustrated. At this point, when the blood reaches my eyes and turns them red, I cannot control it and I become violent. I wake up later, with symptoms similar to a hangover, and there have been more than one occasion I realize that in my fit, I have killed something. And by more than one, I mean several times. The thing about it, though, is that it's completely random. Uncontrollable. I never know when it's going to happen. The lab men are trying to fix that. I guess they did.

Chris knelled down by my cage with my usual shackles and spoke to me. "You try anything… and we won't hesitate to kill you." I could think of many different wisecracks to say at this point, but I thought it best to stay silent. He put a metal ring around my neck as if they were hands about to choke me and locked them. The handcuffs he put on me chaffed my wrists.

"Come, 15."

I became frustrated. "When are you going to give me a name?" I said with resentment, but not that he could hear it. He was emotionless.

"Are you kidding?" He had the gall to laugh. "Heheh. Stupid experiments like you don't need names. As far as you're concerned, you have a name."

"What do you mean by stupid?" I snarled.

He laughed again. "I mean literally! You are not as intelligent as our other experiments, like the bird kids. They have a much higher IQ than you do!" I growled. (AN: my cat typed this!: 7uvy cy`) "No, really!" He said, obviously enjoying this. "You're made for brawn… not brains."

I morphed at that, stifling a bite to his neck, but we arrived at the room with my 'appointment'. He turned to me. "Change back to your other form," Chris ordered. So I did. There really is no arguing with Chris. He then escorted me into the room. There they had lab men… too many to count crowding around in the room. There was a sterile table in the middle of the fracas with strips that was meant for me. The lab men were carrying around needles and other sort of things meant to be stuck into my bare flesh.

Chris pushed me to the direction of the table and I sat down. It was cold, like all other tables I've had to lay on. They used the white strips to bind me down and I stared up at the white ceiling. Everything was white. The lab men put on the protective masks and I looked up at the light burning down at me, at my decaying retinas. They stretched out my right arm and washed it with something alcoholic. They took out their scalpel, and poised it over my arm, where the chip currently resided. They weren't even going to drug me!

They placed the blade on my aching scar and began to press. The pain was so intense… it hurt. It caused me to morph. I heard, muffled, a lab man cry out, "Hold it down! We might cut in the wrong place. Hold it!!"

I felt the blade cut my scaly skin and I roared. "AAARRRRGGGHHHH!!!!" The blood rushed out of my wound and I continued to cry out. Some lab man put his hands around my snout. I thrashed and yelled. In my fury, I turned my head to the arm they were operating on. I saw the blood… I saw the lab man's tweezers holding the chip. It was out. It was time. I opened my mouth and yelled even louder. I unleashed my hidden power, and flame licked past my tongue. It flew around the room. The lab men jumped back and I extended my super voice in an attempt to deafen them. Using my strength, I busted free of the binds on the table and leapt up and ran out the open door, tearing at my shackles as I went. Finally they were free and I crashed past the wall. Unfurling my wings, I took off into the sky, clutching my open wound. Funny, I thought I felt something small and metal in my wound.

I had no time to check. I simply flew as far and as fast as I could.

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Chris ran out the building and watched Number 15 fly off. Another scientist followed him with a walkie talkie. "Hurry! Get the …"

"No." Chris stopped the order. "This is perfect." He shouted off at Number 15, though he knew she couldn't hear him. "Fly! Fly, 15! Do your duty! What you were made for! Kill Maximum Ride!"

She may have not heard the words, but she certainly heard the maniacal laugh following them.

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I sat in the living room of my biological mother's house. It felt good to be here, relaxing. For the first time in a while, I had nothing to worry about. My sister, Ella, was in the kitchen making cookies with Iggy for me. I sighed heavily and dropped my head, resting it on the couch cushions. "Gah, this feels so good."

Ms. Martinez, mom, smiled. "I'm glad you like it here, Max."

I sat up and grinned. "You bet!" My mom laughed. The smell of cookies wafted through the door of the living room and graced my nose. I could hardly wait. When you're on the run, you don't usually get the chance to stop to rest for a moment and savor some good ol' fashioned chocolate chip cookies. In this situation, it's the best thing you've ever tasted.

Iggy and Ella walked out holding four plates of cookies, one in each hand. "Well, here you go, Max. Try not and eat them all." Iggy said. Ella laughed; I bet because she didn't know that was actually a real threat. They placed the plates on the coffee table with a 'Klink' and I gorged myself. The cookies were sooo good, I could hardly believe it.

My mom tried to caution me. "Whoa, whoa, whoa, Max, dear. Don't go choking yourself."

_Yes Max… keep yourself intact. _

Oh shut up. I don't need this from you right now. I'm actually having a good time here.

_Oh, no, you don't understand… something is coming. _

Ha! 'Something is coming'. Is that supposed to be your ominous talk?

_Careful Max… Number 15 is coming. _

Wa-wait. "What is Number 15?" I said aloud.

Fang looked at me with concern. "Max… you alright?"

_Number… 15. Dreaded. Terrible. __**Killer. **_

Out of my control, I started shivering. "Whoa, hey Max!" Fang started yelling.

"The voice…" I said, stuttering, "The voice said something is coming."

He grabbed my shoulders and brought his face dangerously close to mine. "Max… what's coming?"

I clutched my head as I felt a mild brain attack coming on. "Gah… something… dangerous… like a killer…"

Suddenly, Iggy ran outside. "Max, Fang, guys!"

We went outside to see what Iggy was talking about.

"I can hear it… over there." He lifted his finger up into the sky and I saw a flying figure, it was still way off though.

_GRRRRRRAAAAAHHHH! _A sound erupted from the small flying figure. Its flight maneuvering was not at all similar to ours, and I could tell its wings were different.

"Max!" I heard my baby cry out from my mom's arms. I ran up to Angel.

"What's wrong, Angel?" I said, anxiously.

She looked up at it, fear in her eyes. "That's not an Eraser. It has terrible… violent thoughts. Max… it's thinking about you."

Fang came rushing beside me, facing Angel. "Angel, what's it thinking about her?"

"It's primitive, but Max… I think it wants to kill you."

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A special thanks to all who read this! And especially a big thank you to WeirdPeopleRuletheworld for reviewing!

-S. A. Hikari


	4. Apologize

I do not own Maximum Ride in any way, shape, or form.

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"What?!" Fang's eyes widened. He seemed surprised. Heh. I wasn't. I knew they would send something or other to come and kill me again. But time after time, it failed, and I was left there to await another gruesome experiment to try and contain me.

And besides, it wasn't like erasers didn't have primitive, violent thoughts.

As I watched, I noticed that this creature was unlike the erasers in that it's flight maneuvering was as graceful as ours, but how could that be if it were just some other experiment? I couldn't take chances.

"Ella, Mom, you need to get inside and remain there. We are leaving."

Mom looked at me with a worried look in her eyes. "But Max…"

"No," I didn't let her finish her sentence, "If they find us here, they might link us to you, and that's something we don't want happening. Hurry, Go!" They nodded. Ella looked to me, then to Iggy.

"Goodbye guys, I'll miss you."

"Us too, Ella. Now, U and A!"

We took off into the sky, leaving my mom and Ella to their house. At first, we flew as fast as we could in the opposite direction of the flying thing, but still it came, getting closer and closer.

"Fang," I said, consulting my right hand man.

"Yes?"

"It looks like we are going to have to fight. Are you ready?"

He smiled, almost evilly. "I was born ready, Max."

I nodded. "Okay then. Watch out, Number 15, whatever you are, you've found the flock."

The thing crept forwards, and I saw that its skin was a dark, red color, like the color of dried blood or bright brown. Its wings were more bat-like, and it had a long, skinny tail whipping out from behind it.

Total, our little Scotty dog who was struggling to stay aloft after he had mysteriously grown wings, sniffed the air as he looked. "Maxie, I'm beginning to think that Angel's right, and we've never faced anything like it before."

I looked back to him. "Go hide in one of those trees, then. I really don't think that you'll be able to survive a battle with it. Okay? It's not that I don't think you're brave, you're the bravest little dog I've ever met, and I'm just concerned for your safety."

To my surprise, he saluted, and then sped off to conceal himself in a pine tree.

I had to find out what it was, before it reached my flock, and if it was truly after me, then I couldn't sacrifice Fang, or any of my flock members, just for my safety.

I flapped my wings and took off to the thing, much to the surprise gasps to the others. It didn't take long to get close.

It was flying fast. It wore white scrubs and I could tell that when it was not flying, it was indeed bipedal. Dirty white horns protruded from its head and saliva dripped from its toothy snout. What had the school done?

It lunged forward, mouth open and red eyes glued to me. I dodged its first offense, and then got behind it.

But it disappeared! I felt a very sharp pain on my shoulder and cried out in pain. I looked, and the thing had clamped onto me, causing a river of blood to drip from my arm and soak my shirt.

Suddenly, the daggers in my skin were removed, but the pain remained. I gripped my shoulder, tears almost coming down from my eyes. I looked to where the thing had gone, and it was below me.

Fang was taking it on.

He punched it; it flinched a bit but was unphased. It lunged at him, but Fang dodged like I did and punched it again. It grabbed Fangs fist and bit his wrist. When he screamed, it let go and came back to attack me. Fang flew in front of it and it rammed into him. "Go Max! There's no you, there's no us."

I'm not sure what he meant by that, but I stayed put and wholloped the thing in the head. It was knocked loose from Fang, but managed to stay in the air.

"Fang, Fang, are you okay?" His eyes were glazed over, but he looked at me with a lot of emotion. He tried to say something "Ma… Meh…"

His face clenched as pain ripped through his body. I looked down, and the monster had its teeth in Fang's right leg.

"Fang!" I swooped down and hit the monster continuously, but it wouldn't let go. It glared at me. Clearly, it wanted to attack me, but this monster wasn't as stupid as its thoughts portrayed it to be. It was after Fang, because….

Then my Flock surrounded me and knocked it loose of Fang's leg. It fell, no longer flapping its wings and hit the ground hard.

I turned back to my right hand man and helped him flap his wings. "Fang, we need to get you back to Dr. Martinez and get that leg mended. I don't think you can walk, so one of us will have to carry you."

He looked down at the monster. It was still alive. He turned and flew to the ground, towards it.

"Fang! What…?"

"Relax." He said to me, "I know what I'm doing."

I trusted him, but still I was worried. I followed him. Fang set himself down carefully next to the red monstrosity. I landed behind him, fists poised to attack in case something happened.

I watched as its eyes flickered open. Wait, hadn't they been a different color before? Now, they were green. It was covered with bruises and wounds inflicted by myself and the flock. It opened its mouth.

"Please… help."

What? Did it talk?

Fang reached out and caressed its cheek. "Yes, you'll be alright."

"Fang!" I whispered/yelled in his ear.

"Calm down," He said in a regular voice, "She's not going to hurt us now."

Oh yes, 'she' wasn't going to hurt us. The one who almost bit Fang's leg off is just a misunderstood dragon-type-thing.

He stood up and wobbled, but then leaned onto me. "Iggster… carry her, okay?"

Iggy walked forward and dug his arms under 'her' and lifted. Then he beat his wings, as did I, and we took off into the sky.

Iggy was right next to me and I was helping Fang fly. The monster looked at me with compassion in its eyes. "Thank… you…"

I had been glaring at it, but when it said that, I looked away.

"Sure… no problem."

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Fang sat on the couch next to me, his leg all bandaged up and his wrist with a cast. I had changed out of my blood soaked shirt. We watched my mom tend to the thing's wounds.

"Wow," she said, "this is one type of thing I've never seen before… completely unusual."

I was frustrated. How dare we let what almost killed Fang into my family's home. "Yeah, we already know."

The monster suddenly got very stiff and its teeth clamped together, as if it were in even more pain.

"Hey, what's gong on?" Mom said, talking to the thing.

We all watched as it's snout disappeared, it's skin turned lighter, it's tail grew in, extra appendages disappeared, until a regular, skinny, human girl lay in front of us.

She gently opened her eyes and looked at me. "I'm so sorry."

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Thank you so much for reading this and a big special thanks to my reviewers, WeirdpoeopleRuletheWorld, and my anonymous reader.

Sayonara,

S. A. Hikari


	5. Who

I am not James Patterson, nor do I claim to own Maximum Ride.

It would be rude to not reply, so I didn't. I turned my back on the girl and flexed my wings, hoping it would give here a sense of fear, or intimidation, but when I turned my head to look, she had her face towards the ceiling and her eyes were closed. Her mouth was open, and her lips were moist. She looked… so tired.

My mom tried to speak to her. "Hey, girl, wake up!"

She could barely speak.

"I… I can't stay awake."

My mom started shaking her shoulders, "No, you can't fall asleep! You must stay awake!"

She didn't answer. Taking out her stethoscope, Mom listened intently to her chest and breathing. "This is bad, her heartbeat is very slow." She put her hands on her forehead. "Oh my gosh! She's cold!"

Fang had to be surprised, "What?!"

Mom took out a thermometer and jammed it under the skinny girl's tongue. She didn't even grunt. Using her fingers, my mom closed her mouth. It didn't take long to get to the end result.

She could barely spit it out. "Sii… si… 65 degrees Fahrenheit!"

My mouth dropped open. "How is that even possible?!"

Muttering under her breath, my mom carried her to another room in the house. "How is this girl still alive?" She started covering her with hot water bottles and heating pads. Eventually, the girl's eyes opened up. She yawned. "Hm, seemed like I dozed off for a little bit."

Nudge was hysterical. "Dozed off!! You were like dead for like 5 minutes!"

The girl stared at Nudge. "Um, how cold is it outside?"

Nobody really knew the importance of the question until the Gasman, out of curiosity, checked. "It's…. 65 degrees F."

"Oh my gosh!" someone in the flock yelped.

The girl, obviously feeling a lot better helped explain. "I'm cold blooded. My temperature matches that of my surroundings. If it gets less than 70 degrees, and I'm feeling rather weak, I go into hibernation. I suppose that you, being mutants yourselves, have something similar?"

It is true. Our normal body temperature's a little higher than usual humans. It would be only natural that another mutant would have differences.

"Hold on," Total said, "If it's 65 degrees outside, than you should have been sleeping when you attacked us. That doesn't make any sense."

The girl looked at him mockingly, but oddly not surprised, as if she'd seen things like talking dogs many a time before. She laughed. "If you were listening closely, I said when _I'm weak._ I was fine before and when… well… I got injured, I began falling asleep. But because of my wounds, I might not have woken up. Thanks to you, I'm alive."

I don't know what it was, but suddenly, at the mention of the fight, I got really ticked off. "What is your problem?!! Why did you attack us before? What the heck are you?!!"

She suddenly got very sad. "I am number 15…." She paused, "and my mission is to exterminate you."

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There was a long silence, as 15 stared sadly up at us. We got into attack position, shielding Ella and my mother. Her eyes grew moist and her head bowed. She kept eye contact. "I won't hurt you."

I snarled at her. "Darn right you won't! I don't care if you're wounded; you're out of this house!"

She nodded, breaking the gaze. Her head turned over her shoulder as to not look any of us in the eye, like a symbol of submission. "I understand. It would be best for all of us… if I leave."

Angel, my baby, pushed past me and ran up to the girl. "No! Don't go please."

I raised my voice. "Angel! Get back here!"

"Max, she needs help. She has no where to go." Angel hopped up on the examination table that 15 was sitting on and clung to her bony body. 15 tried to push her away. "You don't understand, I've killed mutants before. I don't belong here."

Angel looked back to me. "Max, she's got a chip too."

Now 15 was surprised. "Wait… how did you know…?"

Angel smiled up at her. "I can read minds!"

The girl was visibly impressed, but she didn't speak any more on the subject.

I was suspicious now. What did this mean? Was that chip traceable? Could they find us now because of this thing?

No. It was much worse than that.

"Please let me explain!" The girl said. I growled, but let her continue.

Her story began.

Sorry this one is so short. I felt that that was a good place to stop it for a moment. Don't worry. I'll update really soon. I'm on a roll, man!

Oh, if you're having trouble reviewing, like I did when I first entered the site, check the pop up blocker on the bottom of the page. There's no other pop ups to this site, so you should be fine.

Have a good day.

Once again, a big thank you to Weirdpeopleruletheworld!!!

Sincerely, Secret Author Hikari


	6. Joining

Here ya go-

WARNING- rated for intense elements.

I don't own Maximum Ride

Chapter in Number 15's POV

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"15 years ago, as you probably know, scientists at Itex successfully created a flying human. It was extremely strong, and achieved things regular humans could never even dream of! But, they were frightened, with good reason. They knew that someday, it could backfire. Its strength and intelligence could cause it to go haywire… according to those who created it. So the scientists worked on a new project, a backup plan, a secret weapon to only be unleashed in the worst case scenario.

"They explored deep genes, long recessive traits that could be mixed to create their monster. Different things turned out into unusual results. In the end, they combined alligator, bat, and human successfully to create the worst predator to never walk the Earth… me."

I chose this moment to morph. My lip curled to show off my huge fangs. My skin darkened to turn brownish red. The bird kids in front of me gasped. Max took the little girl known as Angel, and tugged her close.

"Don't worry," I assured them, "I morph at will. I am completely in control." I opened my eyes wide and pointed to my pupils. "See? They're not red." I changed back to show them that I had power over the two forms.

"I grew up fighting. I was taught things, techniques used to take down opponents. Every couple days, the scientists in charge of my development scheduled fights to boost my ability. They observed me closely while I battled unusual mutants from their stockroom of genes. One day I'd heard about someone, someone who the scientists were desperately after… someone named Max. She had gotten out of control. They knew the time had come for the experiment of the flying humans to be terminated.

"I was intrigued when I'd heard that this person had escaped the school. I confronted the observers of my fight that day, demanding to know about this Max. That was when they told me that I had been trained all my life to… kill you.

"Then they increased my training. After that, they told me that I had to kill my opponents or I would be punished. And instead of giving me a food ration for winning the battle like usual, the only food that I got…" I swallowed hard, "were the corpses of the mutants from the fight."

The younger members of the flock, I did not know all their names yet, cringed. I did not blame them. It was gruesome. I'm sure they did not want someone with them who was a type of cannibal.

"They inserted the chip into my arm, saying that I was too soft. They constantly said that I needed to kill. The chip, as you have observed, causes me to go into a violent killing spree. It stirs my blood and turns my pupils a crimson red. I am no longer myself. But, that's not enough for the scientists. I must be my other self **all** the time. When they reinvented the chip, I was certain that it would turn me fully into a monster. I couldn't let that happen. They brought me into the operation room, to remove the current chip and replace it with the new one. They strapped me to the table, and proceeded to cut open my arm, without even giving me sedatives! It hurt so much, I morphed and began thrashing around. Blood was in the air. Looking over, I saw that the chip in my arm was out. Heat exploded in my chest, and rage ignited flames in my heart. I opened my mouth, and fire whipped around the room like ropes. I don't know how, but I obtained a new power."

I opened my mouth and breathed heavy, attempting the feat again. "But somehow, I haven't been able to use it since then."

"That's true…" Max said. "We constantly obtain new powers from time to time, like Angel's ablility to read minds, or my ability to fly abnormally fast."

"Really?" That was cool. These people were getting better and better. "After I blew fire into their faces, I took off, biting my hands free of the shackles and leaped into the sky. I was finally free." I closed my eyes, relishing my freedom, "But…" I touched my arm, were the fleshy pink strip gave the signs of a scar, "the chip had fallen back into my wound when I blew fire. As I traveled, I nursed myself back to health, unknowing that the chip was still inside. As I flew in a random direction, I got closer to this place, and I picked up a scent. I felt my blood rushing to my head, and realized I was going killer. I woke up, falling to the ground, and I saw your wings. I knew that I had found the bird kids, and I knew that I had caused them pain."

I turned away from them, clutching my arm. "I really am sorry."

The dark one, with long black hair, looked emotionless as he walked forward. "I'm Fang. She's Max." He pointed to the tale pale one, "That's Iggy. He's blind. He can feel colors. He's also a pyromaniac. Max, Iggy, and I are all 15." Then Fang nodded to the three younger kids. "That's Nudge. 12 years old. She's a chatterbox. There's the Gasman, 8. He's also a bomb maker; in more ways than one. And there's Angel. 6. The one who reads minds. And Total there is our Scottie dog who can talk and fly. Yeah. Not strange at aaal"

Nudge was rather short, but she had a large smile on her face. As short as she was, the Gasman was shorter. His blond hair was the same as Angel's but a boy's length.

I smiled. "It's nice to meet you all," I turned to the window where I saw trees, and the sky, and birds, "And it's nice to be free."

Fang put his hand on my shoulder. I liked that. "And you can travel with us."

Staring at him, I was speechless. "What?"

Max came up behind him. The blood from her bite dripped down her arm. I couldn't help but think that she hated me for doing that to her. However, Fang was in worse shape, could it be that his condition is what made her so upset? "Fang, what are you thinking?!! This is Omega all over again! And remember what happened then?"

He turned to her. "What else is she supposed to do?"

Max tried to rebut him, but apparently she couldn't find a response. She just kept quiet.

"I… I don't want to be a burden to you." I said quietly.

Max stared at me, anger in her eyes. "Fine… but if you as much as lay a SCRATCH on ANY of us in the flock, I won't hesitate to kill you."

It was understandable. "I will let you, if it ever comes to that."

She laughed, "Ha! You won't have to let me."

Max was fierce. She lived on her own for so long, on the run from mutants, and you can't trust anybody as a bird kid. Their life was hard, as mine would be from now on.

The Nudge girl came and shook my hand. Another pseudo-human's touch… it felt strangely comforting. "Hi! Nice to meet you. I'm Nudge! And you are…?"

I had to think for a moment. Who am I? "I am Number 15."

"No, silly!" She shook her head, "your **name." **

A name? Wasn't I told that 15 was my name? After a short hesitation, I whispered, "I don't have one."

The flock was suddenly very quiet. Even Max, gave me a sad, sympathetic look from over her arm.

The Gasman threw his hands up into the air. "Well, we'll just have to give you one! Do you like um… Leah?"

Suddenly, the flock, with the exception of Max and Fang, started shouting out possible names for me.

"Brittney!"

"Carrie!"

"Katie!"

"Nichole!"

"Jenny!"

"No," I said, "I appreciate the thought, but I want to choose the perfect name for myself, and it may take a while for me to think of it."

"That sounds good," the tall one, Iggy, said, "You just let us know what you want to be called."

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Later that night, after all the injuries had been treated by Ms. Martinez; I lay awake on their couch. Thoughts raced through my head. Questions with no answer. The flock was sleeping in another part of the house. Max wouldn't let them sleep anywhere near me yet. I swung my legs off the comfy couch and put the blanket aside. A bookshelf on the wall held tons of books about animals, and their behaviors because Ms. Martinez was a Veterinarian. I didn't know how to read fluently, but I was curious. I randomly chose one and pulled it from the shelf. I brought it back to my couch and flipped through the pages. I stopped when I saw a picture… it was an alligator. Its mouth was open and the row of teeth was fully visible. It looked fearsome. It held an attractive gaze. There was a caption under the picture. I recognized some of the letters from the simple teachings that one of the nicer scientists was kind enough to teach me. It took a while for me to sound out each of the words. "Picture…taken…by Steve… Irwin."

"Hey 15, are you okay?" The young girl earlier introduced as Max's sister, Ella, entered the room.

"Hm? Oh, I'm fine."

"I was kind of worried about you."

I looked at her. "Why would you be worried about me? I just… I didn't really think that anybody…"

"You've been imprisoned your entire life, so you don't know. People care for each other out here. You've got people who love you now."

The notion was foreign to me. "Love… me?" I'd almost killed Fang, and they loved me?

Ella smiled. "Of course! All of us do! Max seems touchy, but really, she'll warm up to you!"

It was all too confusing, so I dropped the topic.

"Hey Ella, what's this?" I pointed to the open page in the book I was looking at.

"Oh! That's talking about the behavior of Alligators. It says, Alligators can hold their breath underwater for 2 hours."

"Really? I'm part Alligator. I wonder if I can do that."

She kept on reading the page. "Oh, Steve Irwin wrote this."

I stared at the words blankly. "Who's that?"

"He's known as the crocodile hunter, but he also studies cool animals like snakes, spiders, lizards and cool stuff like that. He had a bunch of television shows and inspired a lot of people. A really great man. Too bad, he died a couple years ago. He was very famous."

I smiled. "I know my name."

She turned her head. "Really?"

"Yes. From now on, call me Irwin."

Her eyes lit up. "Sure thing… Irwin."

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Chapter 6

To inform you, Number 15/ Irwin is 13 years old, 2 years younger than Iggy, Max, and Fang. This chapter is more like a review of what happened, but there are bits of information throughout Irwin's story that are kind of vital, so if you didn't read that entire thing, you need to. And remember, Irwin's past is bloody, so don't read this if you prefer milder stories. I know Irwin's name is rather weird, but hey! Max is a girl and she's got a guy's name, and of course, there is Nudge, and Gasman. I thought Irwin was appropriate.

Thanks for reading and have a great day.

Special big thank you to-

Taylor N 12- "Yes, thanks for telling me. I knew there was some loose hole in the back of my mind."

Weirdpeopleruletheworld- thanks, and merry Christmas to you too! I would like it if you read Iggy's in the Spotlight, but there's only one chapter to it so far.

Sincerely, Secret Author Hikari


	7. Contradiction

Chapter 7

I don't own Maximum Ride.

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I couldn't handle it…

Here we were, just fine, when suddenly something jumps me. How the heck did this happen? A monster, that's right, a red, flying, flesh eating monster was occupying my MOTHER'S LIVING ROOM. It actually said that it had to kill me… how many times? Maybe four? I didn't know. I think I lost count.

I didn't sleep. It was impossible with that _**thing**_ in the other room. I looked around me, taking in a head count to make sure we were all here. Here was the extra room in my mom's house. Ella was across the hall.

My mind wandered. I thought about this Number 15. Did she possibly know about Omega, the other thing who's "life had been dedicated to killing me"? There was a chance that she knew about him, but then again, they started the dragon project right after I was born, and it had taken 2 years to perfect. It made me wonder about Omega. He was a mindless enigma. Was he the backup plan, or was 15? Who was the backup backup plan? And did this mean, that when I killed Number 15 there was another backup plan, and one after that and one after that?

It gave me the feeling of hopelessness. The school would stop at nothing to eliminate their "failed" experiment. Even though we practically blew them up. They rebuilt a new facility and kept on experimenting on innocent children. This life would never be over. We would be on the run our entire lives, which may not even be that long. Was there a possibility that the school could be eliminated forever? That could mean that we'd have to commit genocide, practically. We might have to kill anyone and everyone who'd ever even heard about the school or Itex besides the Flock and my family. It seemed… so selfish. How did I know they weren't victims either? And how did I know that 15 wasn't a victim here?

Because they WEREN'T victims! I was! It was all me!

There goes that "selfish" thought again.

Fang was in the sleeping bag next to me. I knew he was awake. Even if he looked like he was sleeping, I don't think he ever goes to sleep unless I am first. He just likes to close his eyes. "Fang..." I whispered.

"Yeah?" his quiet voice answered. See? I was right!

"Why are you so close to that 15 girl?" The question made me feel like I was interrogating him. In a way, I was.

He looked at me, with those stern, handsome eyes of his. He had a blank look on his face. He sighed. "I guess it's because… she's just like you."

I felt my face get hot. "What?! I'm nothing like that bloodthirsty…"

"Think about it," he interrupted. "She's just escaped the school… by herself, no less! If there was anybody with the capacity to do THAT on this team, it's you, hands down." Wow. Was he trying to be flattering or was he just trying to get me to relate?

"Plus, she's got a chip too. She's attempting to cope with it. No doubt she wants it out as much as you did when you had your chip."

Actually, I wasn't so sure it HAD gotten out. Physically, I mean, it's impossible, but could it be that it had imprinted some sort of mind code on my brain that made me follow things like a machine? Have I been controlled this entire time?

My thoughts were swirling around in my head. Nothing seemed solid. Nothing made sense. I felt alone, scared, and even dangerous. I felt that I could actually hurt someone I loved by accident. How horrible is that?

I turned away from Fang. "Do you really think that?"  
I looked at his eyes. They were stern, yet, harbored the romantic feel that I had never really been able to grasp in him before. "Max… have I ever lied to you?"

I thought about the times that he had kissed me. Were those considered lies? Were they promises that he hadn't kept? Then, I remembered how he'd stuck by me; how he always trusted me, save for once when I had invited Ari into our team.

ARI!

He had been a monstrous, flesh eating, cantankerous monster too. Number 15 was basically the same as Ari. Yet I'd rejected her, just like Fang did to Ari a while ago. It turned out he was wrong. The tables have turned. Maybe it was my turn to be incorrect.

That was a huge realization. For once, I was wrong.

"Fang…" my voice grew tender as my lips got close to his, "I will give her a chance… but I keep my words. Number 15 **will** die by my hand, but only if she hurts any of you." Just as he was about to close the gap between us, I turned away.

"I need to use the restroom. Nice talking with you, Fang."

I got up and walked out of the room. I meant what I said. I'd give her a chance… as long as she behaved herself.

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That morning, I trudged out of the room that we slept in. I stretched my arms out and yawned. It was pretty early… 4:30… I didn't think anyone was up yet.

I was wrong again.

I froze as I walked into the living room. Number 15 was there, staring out into space, with a book on her lap.

"Hey! What are you doing?" I shouted.

She looked at me, her eyes were barely open. "Oh, hey Max. I didn't know you would be up so early."

My teeth clenched, "I always get up this early."

She smiled. "Really? So do I!" I think she was trying to show she was happy that we had found some sort of similarity.

All I did was grunt and move to the kitchen. "So, Number 15, what do you eat?"

"Um, I cha…"

I looked through the door and interrupted her. "Answer the question directly. I need to make breakfast."

Her face was lowered and had a pained look. "I told you."

I smiled, "Then maybe we should cook you up some nice mu…"

"MAX!" Fang appeared in the room instantly, "Don't hassle her…"he said. I growled. "Besides, you know you can't cook." He was right. "I'll go get Iggy."

I reached out my hand. "Naw, don't get Iggy. It's too early for him."

"What's too early for me?" he walked into the living room. Ah, darn it, he was up.

"Mornin' Ig." I said.

He nodded. "Sleep well?"

Oh sure, I slept PERFECT with the thing of my nightmares in the house.

"Nah, not really." It was the truth. I couldn't get my mind to shut up. At least the voice hadn't bothered me during the night.

_Max… _

Speak of the devil…

_Max, get rid of Number 15. _  
Why should I?

_It will be your downfall. She will kill you. _

And that's been said, how many times now?

_I'm warning you…_

Shut up.

It spoke no more. I smiled. I might keep her here not because of my promise to Fang, but to just tick the voice off.

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I had a little trouble with this chapter. I hope you enjoyed it.

There IS romance to this story. I have to get it going first though. Don't worry. It is Fax. (Maybe with a side dish of Eggy, who knows?)

Special thanks to-

Taylor N 12- thanks a bundle!

Sincerely, Secret Author Hikari


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